The work of a port missionary

Being a port missionary has two key aspects; proclaiming the gospel to non-Christian seafarers and discipling Christian seafarers. Port missionaries bring the gospel to unbelieving seafarers through the provision of Bibles and Bible courses. For Christian seafarers, they provide fellowship, resources and encouragement to enable them to reach out to their unconverted crewmates.

As a port missionary, Rob’s day begins with checking ship schedules to see which vessels are arriving at Port Botany. Onboard, he engages seafarers in conversation, offering Bibles and Bible courses in their native languages. 

Typically, when ships come into port, they only stay between 24-48 hours before departing again. During that time the seafarers are still required to work and so they have only limited opportunities to go ashore. For this reason, Rob connects with them during lunch and dinner times.

Rob shares, “Let's assume I go to a ship and find that three or four seafarers have finished the Bible study courses I provided on a previous visit. While I'm on the ship I’ll collect those courses, and also interact with other seafarers I perhaps didn't see on the previous voyage. I'll engage them in conversation and see if I can persuade them to also accept a Bible and a Bible course.

Rob will then take the completed courses home and mark the quiz at the end. Collecting courses and marking them gives Rob an opportunity to have another conversation with the seafarer about what they understood or not. These are good opportunities to challenge and encourage the seafarer to place his faith in Christ for salvation.

Like all ministry, being a port missionary has ups and downs. However, Rob has seen God work in different ways and at different times through His Word and Spirit in the lives of different seafarers.

It’s always a cause of great rejoicing when a seafarer is convicted of their sin, repents and places their faith in Christ. It’s also a blessing to be able to help a newly converted seafarer grow and mature in Christ and to help them become a member of a good church in their own country.

One Filipino seafarer, encouraged by Rob’s ministry and that of another Christian seafarer, began leading Bible studies when at sea. Rob shares, “Every ship he went to, he would invite his crewmates to come to a Bible study. One of the guys that he invited subsequently was encouraged and helped to do that when he went to other ships. And just a couple of days ago he told me he's just finishing his contract and another Christian on his ship is going to take over the Bible study. Those sorts of things are very encouraging.”

The ships Rob visits are like microcosms of the world. Each ship commonly has seafarers from five or more nationalities on board, like Filipino, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Italian, Dutch and more.

Yet they all share something in common - their need for Jesus!

Rob says, “Regardless of nationality and culture, seafarers all need to come to believe, to repent and put their faith in Jesus.”

Can you join the ministry of SCFS in Port Botany or another port in Australia?